“GOATS WILL EAT ANYTHING”

So said Kenny Redgrave, owner of Ickenham’s Two Acre Farm.  And to prove it, one of his lovable pets proceeded to chew my notes!  Kenny keeps about forty goats as well as the same number of chickens, some sheep, a few pigs and some peacocks.  But it was the goats I’d come to find out about as well as what motivates their dedicated owner. 

Goats make good pets, (so long as you keep them outside), which is why Kenny started keeping them.  Adaptable creatures, goats have a variety of uses.  Some are kept for milking, some for their wool, some for their meat and others are used as beasts of burden.  Before WW2 it was not unusual at the seaside to see goats pulling small carts to provide half-penny rides.  Even now in some countries they are called upon to carry wood, small children and other loads. 

There are about fifteen common breeds of goats; one of the most popular today is the pygmy, less than two feet high and relatively docile.  Kenny’s are a cross between Boers and Toggenburgs.  They lead a peaceful life, grazing and sleeping and being petted and fed by Kenny and his family.  “Unfortunately”, he says, “other children will feed them crisps and the goats end up eating the packets which aren’t at all good for them.”  Like cattle and sheep, goats are ruminants, with four stomachs.  These stomachs work like fermentation vats, using bacteria to break down food.  A healthy diet for a goat will include fibre and greens and not much variation day to day. 

Regrettably, Kenny is thinking of giving up his goats.  His children are getting older and less in need of pets and he says there isn’t much in the way of commercial return.  So the spectacle of these square-eyed creatures in this corner of Ickenham could, sadly, soon come to an end.

AFN

 

CHURCH WARDEN CHANGES

At the Annual General Meeting of St Giles’ PCC, Brenda Baxter formally stood down from the post of Church Warden after six years in that role.  Making a presentation in recognition of the event, Adrian thanked Brenda for her commitment and remarked on her resourcefulness. “Whenever any item was urgently needed for the church, Brenda was always on hand and managed to acquire it”, he said. 

The consequent Church Warden vacancy was filled by Naomi Webb who has previously been very diligent in the role of PCC Secretary.  Naomi said, “I feel very honoured and privileged to be entrusted to serve the parish and the safeguarding of this ancient church; also to support the Rector and the work of God in this place.” 

Adrian also took the opportunity to congratulate Caroline Hill, who, he said, “has done a great job”, in her first year as the other St Giles’ Church Warden.